Glad to see you put ILB in there. Lofton is a thumper and smart, but he does not have the range. gets beat in coverage and often times cant get to the edge on stretch plays. he has been a hinderance this season.

quote:We were much faster when we had Devery and Reggie-teams had to respect our speed. Not so much now.

Meach is fast, but he is a one-trick-pony. If all you can do is run deep, then you are easily taken out of the game. I do agree with what you are saying, but we need a WR that is fast AND can run all the routes.

re: What are the Saints greatest needs in the draft?(Posted by inthebr on 1/6/14 at 11:27 am to Roaad)

Getting a Kenny Vaccaro clone, a DT as dominant as Hicks or a DE on Jordan's level in the first round would be swell. The Saints need more quality depth on the defensive side of the ball and a decent center to push/replace DLP, IMO, and you can work on those things in rounds 2-7 depending on what's available.

re: What are the Saints greatest needs in the draft?(Posted by blueslover on 1/6/14 at 11:41 am to Chad504boy)

let's call it offseason needs, free agency will play out first which can dramatically alter the draft needs

Center- a definite step backwards for dlP. It might have been Kromer's touch that hid his deficiencies better. None deserve first round consideration this year. You can still pickup a 10yr starter at C in the 2nd or 3rd Rd tho. Swanson from Arkansas and Larsen Utah St are on the top of most boards.

The rest are still fluid IMO. It's not unreasonable that they could determine if Armstead is the guy or at least ready to grow into the spot. He's an incredible athlete that just needs honing coming out of Pine Bluff. I expect Strief back as a UFA.

Safety is a complete unknown besides Vaccaro. I could see both Harper & Jenkins gone, back, or a combination. That will go a long ways in how the need ranks.

I would like a more dynamic ILB but looking at Hawthorne & Lofton's contracts we're committed to them for at least another coupla yrs.

I'm not on the 1st or 2nd Rd WR bandwagon. Stills led the frickin NFL in YPC. No reason why his numbers couldn't double next year. That would be 64rec 1282yds 10 TDs. Colston may be approaching decline but with him also we're basically stuck contractually until 2016. Lance is on my endangered list- 37 catches, turning age 31. Will cost $2.3mil to cut and save almost $3mil of cap. Plenty of attractive WRs 3rd Rd & later

Looks like CB could be the best fit for value & need in the 1st Rd. If Greer is done it skyrockets as need. I have Dennard and Verrett gone by the Saints pick. Gilbert OKSt & Ifo Ekpre-Olomu Oregon look like the best possibilities.